Figures released yesterday by the National Statistics Office reveal that the unauthorised absence rate for boys was 4.6 days per pupil while the authorised absence rate was 6.3 days per pupil; the rates for girls were 4.4 unauthorised days per pupil and 5.7 days per pupil for authorised absences.

The latter figures indicate an increase of about two per cent in absences when compared to the overall total number of absent school days in the previous year. In 2002, 556,963 absent days were registered among a pupil population of 61,389, while there were 635,993 absent days for a pupil population of 60,648 in 2003.

This increase is the result of a rise in the number of absences – authorised and unauthorised – at primary level in both public and

private schools, in spite of a population decrease in both sectors at this level.

State primary schools registered an increase of 1.8 absent days per pupil over the previous year, up to 8.9 days per pupil in 2003 – 8.9 days per pupil for boys and 8.8 days per pupil for girls.

The unauthorised absence rate for boys at public primary level stood at 3.3 days per pupil, while the authorised rate stood at 5.7 days per pupil. The unauthorised rates for girls stood at 3.1 days, while another 5.7 days per pupil were authorised absences

Private primary schools also registered an increase of 1.5 absent days per pupil over 2002. The overall absence rate for these schools was 5.8 absent days per pupil – 5.7 days per pupil for boys and 5.8 days per pupil for girls.

The unauthorised rate for boys at private primary level stood at 0.6 days per pupil, while the authorised rate stood at 5.1 days per pupil. The unauthorised and authorised rates for girls stood at 0.7 days and 5.1 days per pupil respectively.

Government secondary schools (including the Junior lyceums and boys’ and girls’ schools) registered an increase in the number of absences per head, up by 1.1 absent days per pupil (from 16.3 in 2002 to 17.4 in 2003).

The average unauthorised absence rate for boys was 10.9 days per pupil while another 7.8 days of absence per pupil were authorised. The unauthorised absence rate for girls was 8.9 days per pupil, while authorised absences amounted to 7.1 days per pupil.

As in the public sector, private secondary schools registered an increase of 1.5 absent days per pupil over the previous year (from 4.3 to 5.8 absent days per pupil). The unauthorised rate for boys at private secondary level stood at 0.8 days per pupil while the authorised rate stood at 5.4 days per pupil.

The unauthorised and authorised rates for girls stood at 1.3 and 5.3 days per pupil respectively.

Clearly, the incidence of absenteeism in the private sector both in the primary and secondary level, was much lower than in the government schools, as the total overall absence rate in 2003 stood at 5.8 days per pupil as against 13.0 days per pupil within the public sector.

In particular, unauthorised absences rates were reported to be much higher in the public sector, with 6.5 absent days per pupil, as compared to the 0.9 absent days per pupil in the private sector.

Finally, the total number of absent school days in trade schools stood at 8,762 school days. This figure showed a decrease of 3,912 absent days over the previous year. However, one of the major reasons for such a decrease was that the population in these schools also dropped, from 546 in 2002 to 378 in 2003. The number of absent days per student has, in reality, remained the same as in 2002, with 23.2 absent days per pupil.